Veteran Westwood co-leads ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth

Perth, Australia, February 9: Lee Westwood of England shot a second-round two-under-par 70 under gusty conditions to share the lead with Brett Rumford of Australia at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth on Friday.

Lee Westwood of England shot a second-round two-under-par 70 under gusty conditions to share the lead with Brett Rumford of Australia at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth. Photo by Daniel Carson/ PGA of Australia

The 44-year-old golfer overcame swirling winds to card an eagle as well as four birdies at Lake Karrinyup Country Club. However, he dropped shots at the first, ninth, 13th and 18th before signing for an eight-under-par 136 total.

Rumford adopted a cautious approach in the second round that resulted in two birdies against two bogeys. He is contented to sign for a 72, which is sufficient to keep him at the top of the leaderboard.

Prom Meesawat of Thailand was on his way to join Westwood and Rumford in tied-first, but he dropped a shot at the 18th after his approach went short and into the bunker. Nevertheless, the Thai had a commendable second round, scoring six birdies on his way to carding a 70.

Sharing third place with Prom is Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, Lucas Herbert of Australia and Grant Forrest of Scotland. The trio shot 67, 69 and 68 respectively.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, one of the top contenders going into the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth, was four-under-par after 11 holes, but four consecutive bogeys from holes three to six brought him back to even par. He finished round two in tied-eighth.

Compatriot Pavit Tangkamolprasert scored an ace at the par-three 17th. The 28-year-old teed off using a seven-iron from 204 yards. It was his first hole-in-one in his life.

The cut after two rounds was set at even par, with 80 players progressing to round three.

Did you know:

Lee Westwood hit eight out of 14 fairways and made 13 out of 18 greens in regulation in round two.

He won in Australia previously, beating the legendary Greg Norman in a playoff at the 1997 Australian Open.

His most recent professional victory was at the 2015 CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters, an event on the Asian Tour.

Brett Rumford is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. He won last year’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth and the 2013 Ballentine’s Championship.

His highest-ever position on the Official World Golf Ranking was 74th, achieved in October 2013.

Prom Meesawat’s consistency helped him earned US$134,192 on the Asian Tour in 2017. He finished 30th on the 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit.

In an interview with the Asian Tour in 2014, he said that his favourite female golf professional is Paula Creamer.

Thorbjorn Olesen has won previously at Lake Karrinyup Country Club. He emerged victorious the 2014 Perth International.

He was part of Team Europe that won the 2014 EurAsia Cup.

Lucas Herbert qualified for The Open after finishing tied-eighth at the Singapore Open.

He was one of Australia’s best amateurs before he turned professional in 2015. He was the leading amateur at the 2014 Australian Open and the leading amateur at the 2014 Australian Masters.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat missed only two fairways in round two.

In 2013 when he won the Asian Tour Order of Merit, he earned US$1,127,855. The biggest prize cheque that year came from his win in Malaysia.

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